The fear of the novel coronavirus is now on the minds of everyone. The virus does not discriminate. It can transmit to anyone and everyone, regardless of age, gender and social class. And the virus can quickly spread from person to person. That is why most people are taking all the precautionary measures available to them — be it wearing masks outdoors, disinfecting goods brought home from outside or decontaminating clothes.Yet, there are those that are foregoing common sense, underestimating the potency of the virus and leaving themselves, as well as others, in a vulnerable state by refusing to adopt the necessary measures. At a time like this, a question should be raised— should there be any rules or regulations for property owners to implement decontamination measures before entering buildings?
The question,although a hypothetical one,has some solid gravitas behind it because, after all, it only takes one unsuspecting, one unwary carrier to spread the virus to dozens of people or even contaminate an entire building. We have seen and continue to see the rapid transmission pace of the novel coronavirus. The only way to curtail its momentum is through active participation in safety and decontaminating practices. And the best persons to ensure that such practices are followed, personal hygiene aside, are the property owners. That is because, at the end of the day, it is their voice that is heard the most by the people living or working in a property.It is also property owners, particularly landlords, who have the authority to introduce such practices for all their tenants.
The good thing is, though, that property owners who want to step up and implement such measures will not have to look too far to get an understanding of what they need to do. All the newcomers would have to do is follow the examples of those that have already been doing it for a while — of which there are plenty.A number of major commercial buildings and private property owners already use several strategies and tools for decontamination.These measures range from low-cost DIY techniques to pricey industrial-grade solutions — all of which are appropriate for different contexts and volume of people. They are placed or practiced at the entrance of the properties to ensure that minimal contamination passes through the doors if any.
Some of the more popular cost-effective safety practices in residential buildings include placing shoe mats filled with bleach solutions, spraying homemade disinfectants and placing soap and water at the entryway. In commercial buildings, some use commercially sold potent disinfectant sprays, temperature check and, in rare cases,disinfectant tunnels.However, these can be costly and not everyone can or will afford them.So, that leaves only the DIY techniques for everyone else. But even then, there might be a few problems or issues such as that of procuring and/or creating enough disinfectant regularly.This will not be such a problem if the number of people entering a property is minimal. But if it is not, many property owners and landlords might decide to opt-out of implementing any measures.
And that is a big problem.In order to contain and eliminate the coronavirus quickly, participation for everyone is necessary. As mentioned previously, a few can spread the virus to many, and for that not to happen, we need to focus on a type of “herd immunity” where, instead of everyone developing immunity to a disease or virus, everyone protects each other by adopting hygienic and safety measures. Trying to achieve actual herd immunity may produce catastrophic results for us — which is why such measures are necessary and which is why we should have some rules and regulations that make it mandatory to practice decontamination measures while entering every building.
The decision to implement disinfectant and decontamination measures have been fruitful already, even if it does not come up in the news. Even after over 100 days of official transmission, there are residents in buildings located in hotspots who are still fortunately unaffected and safe. Rigorous safety and hygienic practices at home and at entrances have prevented the virus from contaminating the residents. They should be taken as models and similar precautions should be introduced all around the country.
However, while doing so, the cost for the property owners and landlords should be kept in mind as well. Introducing such rules and regulations should also accompany support from authorities, either in the form of free material allocation and distribution or a significant reduction in the prices of the materials. Without such support, any measure will result in becoming a burden for the owners. In fact, if every property owner who is yet to go the necessary extra mile was interviewed, there is a good chance that many would cite cost as a major reason for not implementing the safety measures.Veering away from the hypothetical to reality, many of the smaller communities in apartment buildings and houses have been taken up by property owners to follow decontamination at entrances and shoulder the costs equally. But unfortunately, many of the uninformed do not.
So, at a time like this, we need to step up and go the lengths necessary to ensure the safety of all. The end of the crisis is still nowhere in sight and we all must go beyond our roles for the community. Whether there is ever a regulation introduced or not, property owners have a big role to play in the coming days. Now it is up to them how they will approach it. Will they be silent viewers during the ongoing crisis or will they take up the role of guardians of others?
